Hermann's tortoise
Testudo hermanni
Ectothermic, poikilothermic reptile. Solitary in the wild; in captivity tolerates conspecifics in a large enclosure. Main behaviour: sun-basking thermoregulation, browsing and walking, hiding during midday heat, foraging substrate for water and tender plants.
Overview & key figures
Regulations
CITES Appendix II
ℹ️Proof of origin required; CITES permits for import/export. OPAn: outdoor enclosure/UVB, hibernation; microchip recommended depending on size/age; keep records. Release prohibited.
Lifespan
from 70 to 100years
ℹ️70–100 years under good husbandry; routinely >100 years in well-managed animals.
Adult weight
from 0.5 to 3.5kg
ℹ️Varies with subspecies and sex: T. hermanni hermanni (Italy/France) 0.5–1.5 kg; T. hermanni boettgeri (Balkans) up to 3–3.5 kg. Females heavier than males.
Adult size
from 7 to 28cm
ℹ️Shell length: 7 cm at hatching, 15–20 cm adult (hermanni) or up to 25–28 cm (boettgeri).
Lifestyle
Mediterranean arid habitats, diurnal, terrestrial
Body temperature
Ectothermic / poikilothermic
Sexual maturity
from 8 to 10years
ℹ️8–10 years depending on growth and conditions; males often mature slightly earlier.
Incubation
from 70 to 90days
ℹ️Incubation 70–90 days at 28–32 °C. Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD): >31 °C → females, <30 °C → males.
Litter / clutch size
from 1 to 5eggs
ℹ️1–5 eggs per clutch, 2–3 clutches per year.
Habitat & environment
Type of housing
Natural outdoor enclosure all warm season (mid-April to mid-October depending on climate). Terrarium only for juveniles, convalescence or pre-/post-hibernation. South-facing, sheltered from prevailing wind.
Substrate & bedding
Outdoors: garden soil/sparse turf + slate stones for basking; small leaf litter patches for digging in. Indoors: kitchen paper, newspaper or Sandmat Exoterra®. Avoid sand, fine soil and ingestible shavings (intestinal impaction).
Lighting
Photoperiod : 10–12 h/day during activity; gradually shortened pre-hibernation (8 → 6 h over 2–3 weeks). Outdoors the natural photoperiod is sufficient.
UVB
- UVB need : Vital indoors (without UVB no vitamin D3 synthesis or calcium absorption); natural outdoors (>20 °C, sunny)
- Lamp type : Metal-halide lamps with external ballast (UVB + heat combined) or T5 HO 12 % tube with separate heat spot
- Recommended brands : X-ReptileReptile ExpertSolar RaptorArcadia
- Replacement : Yearly (metal-halide) — standard UV tubes every 6 months (UVB depletes before visible light)
- UVB does not pass through glass or plexiglass. Place the lamp inside the terrarium, under a protective grille. Direct sun behind a window pane is ineffective and may cause dangerous overheating.
- For the health of these reptiles, metal halide lamps are the gold standard for UV: they deliver a powerful UVB spectrum, far stronger than fluorescent tubes or compact bulbs, optimising vitamin D synthesis and therefore calcium absorption. They reduce the risk of metabolic bone disease, and also provide intense visible light and an even heat output that drive activity.
Basking : South-facing slate slab (outdoors) or metal-halide lamp at 30–40 cm distance (indoors). Reach 30–35 °C at the shell surface.
Exercise & outings
Large outdoor grazing area for browsing, scratching, sun-basking and hiding. Tortoises naturally roam several tens of metres per day.
Required equipment
- ✓ Sturdy fence (concrete, treated wood or stone), ≥ 30 cm high, buried 20–30 cm against escape and digging predators
- ✓ Rounded corners (tortoises climb in corners)
- ✓ Covered shelter (wooden hutch, cold frame) for rain/cold
- ✓ Sunny basking zone with slate slabs/stones
- ✓ Shaded areas under shrubs (thermal refuge)
- ✓ Shallow, wide water dish (5–8 cm), rough rim for exit
- ✓ Edible plantings: dandelion, clover, sow thistle, plantain, daisy, hibiscus, mallow
- ✓ Cuttlebone free-choice
- ✓ Nesting box (moist sand/soil, half-sun) for females from 7–8 years
- ✓ Anti-corvid netting for juveniles (crows/magpies)
To avoid
- ⚠️ Fine sand / loose soil indoors (intestinal impaction)
- ⚠️ Hot rocks or floor heat plates (plastron burns)
- ⚠️ Unprotected UV lamps (burn risk, too close)
- ⚠️ Glass between tortoise and UV (UVB does not pass through glass)
- ⚠️ Resinous wood shavings (pine, cedar) in large amounts
- ⚠️ Enclosure without permanent shade (heat stroke)
- ⚠️ Deep water dish (>10 cm without ramp; drowning risk)
Technical parameters
| Hot spot | 30–35 °C Basking spot under the lamp; temperature measured at the basking surface. |
| Cool spot | 18–25 °C Cool and night zone; tolerates down to 15 °C at night outside hibernation. |
| Humidity | 50–70 % Moderate; higher (60–70 %) in juveniles to prevent shell pyramiding. |
Environmental hazards & toxins
Species that spend time free-roaming in the home or aviary can be exposed to these everyday hazards. Indicative list — check case by case.
Plants
- 🌸 Lily — Lilies of all varieties (bouquets, houseplants)
- 🌺 Oleander — Oleander (garden, balcony)
- 🌲 Yew — Common yew (hedges, gardens)
- 🔔 Lily of the valley — Lily of the valley (bouquets, garden)
- 🌸 Foxglove — Purple foxglove, ornamental plants
- 🌺 Rhododendron / azalea — Rhododendrons, azaleas (garden, ornamental plants)
- 🌸 Kalanchoe — Kalanchoes (popular houseplants)
- 🌸 Lantana — Lantana (ornamental plant, balconies)
- 🌿 Rhubarb leaves — Rhubarb leaves (garden)
- 🌳 Cherry laurel & Prunus species — Cherry-laurel hedges, leaves/stones of cherry, plum, apricot, peach (pruning thrown in the run)
- 🌸 Datura & deadly nightshade — Datura (angel's trumpet), deadly nightshade, black nightshade, henbane — weeds and ornamental plants
- 🌿 Hemlock — Poison hemlock, fool's parsley, water hemlock — ditches, wet meadows
- 🌸 Hydrangea — Potted and garden hydrangeas (popular blue/pink blooms)
- 🍁 Red maple (wilted leaves) — Wilted red maple leaves (autumn fall, prunings); especially toxic when dry
Chemicals
- 🐌 Slug bait (metaldehyde) — Blue slug pellets in gardens and vegetable plots
- 🌱 Herbicides & chemical fertilisers — Glyphosate, moss killer, fertiliser pellets, blood meal, bone meal; freshly applied baits/powders on lawn
- 🪰 Household insecticides — Fly sprays, mosquito diffusers, plug-ins, chemical antiparasitics
- 🐀 Rodenticides — Anticoagulants (warfarin, brodifacoum), bromethalin, cholecalciferol, strychnine; pellet/block baits, or poisoned dead rodents
- 🧂 Salt & salty water — Cattle salt licks, softener water, melted road-salt water, salty scraps (cold cuts, crisps)
Nutrition
Recommended breakdown
- Greens & wild herbs 90 %
- Fruit (occasional) 10 %
Daily base 90 %
Strict herbivore: 90 % varied fibrous greens (wild herbs, flowers, leaves), max. 10 % fruit. Favour foods with a high Ca/P ratio (≥ 2). Natural grazing in a planted enclosure is the ideal base. No animal protein.
🌿 Plants & herbs
🥕 Vegetables
🥕 Vegetables & greens
Supplemental plants and leaves to vary the grazing base. Lightly chop for juveniles or poor chewers.
⏰ Feeding frequency
- • Daily in active season (April to October), portion eaten within 15–20 min
- • 1–2 fasting days/week tolerated in adults (prevents obesity and pyramiding)
- • Gradual fasting from September before hibernation
- • Calcium and cuttlebone permanently free-choice
- • Fresh water permanently available
Supplements & pellets
Tortoise herbivore pellets as occasional supplement, always rehydrated (prevents water deficit and improves chewing). Not as the staple.
- 🟤 Pellet — Réhydraté 5–10 min avant distribution
Treats 10 %
Fruit and sweeter plants in very small amounts (max 10 % of the diet). Favour vitamin-A-rich sources.
Hydration
Fresh water permanently in a wide, shallow dish, changed once daily. Lukewarm baths (28–30 °C, 15–20 min) weekly in active season, daily pre-/post-hibernation. Tortoises drink mostly while bathing and from juicy plants.
Vitamin A
Essential for mucous membranes, skin, shedding and vision. Deficiency: puffy eyes, dysecdysis, respiratory/eye infections, poor shell quality. Covered by rich greens: dandelion (≈ 397,000 IU/kg DM), watercress (≈ 422,000), romaine (≈ 274,000), spinach (≈ 301,000), endive, turnip greens, kale, mango, papaya, apricot, melon.
To avoid
Toxic, severely unbalanced foods (poor Ca/P, sugar/starch-rich) or unsuitable for the strict herbivore. Animal protein is forbidden (causes gout, MBD, liver damage).
- 🥑 Avocado — Persine — cardiotoxique
- 🌿 Rhubarb — Acide oxalique
- 🍆 Eggplant — Solanine
- 🌼 Daffodil — Toxique
- 🌸 Azalea — Grayanotoxines
- 🌷 Tulip — Tuliposides
- ✨ Firefly — Mortel
- 🍄 Mushroom — Ca/P 0,06
- 🌽 Corn — Ca/P 0,1; amidon trop élevé
- 🥦 Brussels Sprouts — Ca/P 0,2; goitre
- 🍌 Banana — Trop sucré; Ca/P 0,3
- 🍅 Tomato — Acidité + Ca/P 0,4
- 🥬 Lettuce — Iceberg/ronde : trop d'eau, peu nutritive
- 🍑 Peach — Trop sucré; Ca/P 0,4
- 🍎 Apple — Trop sucré; Ca/P 0,5
- 🥒 Cucumber — Concombre : trop d'eau, Ca/P 0,5
- 🥦 Cauliflower — Goitre
- 🥕 Carrot — Trop sucré; Ca/P 0,6
- 🍇 Grape — Trop sucré
- 🍓 Strawberry — Trop sucré
- 🍓 Raspberry — À limiter
- 🍗 Chicken — Pas de protéine animale
- 🥩 Fatty meat — Pas de protéine animale
- 🧀 Dairy product — Inadapté
- 🍞 Bread — Inadapté
- 🍝 Pasta — Inadapté
Behaviour & socialisation
Social life
Solitary leaning; a male/female pair exposes the female to constant harassment (exhaustion, shell wounds). Prefer 1 male / 2–3 females or female-only groups. Separate males (territorial fights). Never cohabit with other tortoise species (infection risk).
Activity cycle: Diurnal. Peak activity mid-morning (basking) then grazing; midday siesta in shade; second peak in the afternoon. At night, retreat to shelter or shallow burrowing.
Sleep & rest : No prolonged uninterrupted sleep in active season; retreats to shelter at night. The "deep rest" is hibernation (October–March), distinct from daily sleep.
Enrichment
- Grazing area planted with edible varieties to forage
- Leaf-litter / straw piles to bury in
- Stumps and stones to climb (safely)
- Weekly lukewarm bath (28–30 °C)
- Scattered food distribution to encourage walking
Foraging
Natural grazing behaviour: the tortoise walks, browses, scratches the ground and explores. Food scattered in the planted enclosure is the ideal enrichment — far more relevant than a heap in a dish. Promotes physical activity, sun exposure and digestive health.
Time in the wild : Several hours per day grazing and exploring (in active season)
Techniques :
- Plant dandelion, clover, plantain and hibiscus in the enclosure (spontaneous grazing)
- Scatter harvested greens in several spots rather than in a pile
- Hide favourite fruit under flat stones
- Vary weekly: shift the distribution zones
- Lukewarm bath + drinking: the animal also seeks its water
Health & prevention
Preventive medicine
Annual clinical exam (shell, nostrils, eyes, oral cavity, plastron, body condition), monthly weighing (trend curve), yearly faecal exam before hibernation, microchip from ~10 cm shell length, quarantine ≥ 3 months for any new specimen (Mycoplasma agassizii and herpesvirus screening in at-risk animals). Annual UVB lamp replacement indoors.
Vaccination
No routine vaccinations in Hermann's tortoise.
Surgery & sterilisation
Common procedures: ovariohysterectomy for dystocia (egg retention), shell wound care (fractures, predator injuries), cloacal/penile prolapse correction, abscess removal (notably aural abscesses), bladder stone removal (urates), shell repair with epoxy resin.
Clinical warning signs
If any of these symptoms appear, prompt veterinary care is essential. Contact an exotic-pet vet as soon as possible — they can assess your animal's condition and make the appropriate diagnosis.
Common conditions
Metabolic bone disease (MBD)
Cause: Calcium and/or UVB deficiency, excess fruit, unbalanced Ca/P, inadequate humidity in juveniles
Symptoms: Soft/deformed shell (pyramiding), soft beak, slow growth, spontaneous fractures, limb weakness
Prevention: UVB 10–12 % replaced yearly, free-choice calcium, high-Ca/P greens, age-appropriate humidity
Runny nose syndrome (RNS, Mycoplasma agassizii / herpesvirus)
Cause: Bacteria (Mycoplasma agassizii, Pasteurella) or viruses (chelonid herpesvirus) — often introduced by new specimens without quarantine
Symptoms: Serous then mucopurulent nasal discharge, wheezing, appetite loss, conjunctivitis, possible mortality with herpesvirus
Prevention: Quarantine ≥ 3 months for any new arrival, no mixing of tortoise species, Mycoplasma/herpes PCR screening if suspected
Dystocia / egg retention
Cause: No suitable nesting site, hypocalcaemia, oversized eggs, dehydration, stress
Symptoms: Anorexic female, > 1 week digging activity without laying, distended abdomen, penguin-gait
Prevention: Nesting box with moist sand/soil accessible all season, adequate calcium, hydration, yearly female check-up
Shell ulcers / mycosis (shell ulcerative disease)
Cause: Substrate too damp or soiled, untreated wounds, parasitism (flies/maggots)
Symptoms: White/yellow/brown spots on plastron or carapace, progressive erosion, oozing, foul smell
Prevention: Dry, clean substrate, regular cleaning, weekly shell check, antifungal treatment at first sign
Intestinal parasitism (pinworms, roundworms, flagellates)
Cause: Faecal re-infestation, poor hygiene, stress
Symptoms: Soft stools or diarrhoea, weight loss, growth delay, visible parasites in droppings
Prevention: Annual faecal exam (especially before hibernation), targeted deworming, remove droppings regularly
Bladder stones (urates)
Cause: Chronic dehydration, excess protein, diet too dry
Symptoms: Anorexia, walking backwards, groaning, refusing baths, pasty urates
Prevention: Weekly baths, hydrated greens, no animal protein, water always available
Shell pyramiding
Cause: Growth too fast, too low humidity in juveniles, excess protein, lack of exercise
Symptoms: Dorsal scutes permanently raised in cones (irreversible deformation)
Prevention: 60–70 % humidity for juveniles, very fibrous diet, daily exercise, outdoor exposure as soon as possible
Aural abscess
Cause: Ascending from the Eustachian tube (poor hygiene, hypovitaminosis A, cold/damp environment)
Symptoms: Firm unilateral tympanic swelling (caseous material), often painless, sometimes anorexia
Prevention: Correct humidity, dietary vitamin A, environmental hygiene; surgical drainage when confirmed
Hibernation & rest
Good to know
Hibernation IS ESSENTIAL for a healthy life cycle (regulates reproduction and metabolism). Year 1: prefer a mini-hibernation of 4–6 weeks in box at 8–10 °C; year 2: 2 months; from year 3: full winter 3–5 months. Never hibernate: juvenile < 100 g, sick or gravid animal, > 5 % weight loss in pre-hibernation, or digestive tract not emptied.
Period
October to March/April depending on latitude. True hibernation of 3–5 months in healthy adults.
Temperature
5–10 °C
Method
Wine cellar or cool dry room, polystyrene-insulated box at least 30 cm high, dry substrate (straw/hay/leaf litter/newspaper), small water container for slight humidity. Rodent protection (fine mesh). Reference weighing before entry.
Step-by-step plan
- 1
Mid-August: energy-rich feeding (figs, melon, apples) and vitamin-A-rich greens (carrot, cabbage, endive, dandelion) — build reserves.
- 2
Early September: veterinary clinical exam + deworming after faecal analysis. Never hibernate a sick, gravid or weight-losing animal.
- 3
Mid-September: second deworming if infested; begin gradual fasting (digestive tract must be empty at entry).
- 4
Activity decline (late September/early October): daily 15-min baths at 28–30 °C to hydrate and empty the gut; gradual ambient T° reduction.
- 5
Hibernation start: stable T° 5–10 °C, quiet, dark room, insulated box, dry substrate, small water dish, reference weighing, rodent protection.
- 6
During hibernation: monthly checks of weight (loss ≤ 1 %/month), T° and humidity. No repeated waking (warning sign).
- 7
March/April: gradual wake-up. Raise T° +3 °C every 2 days, expose to light, daily 30 °C baths 15 min, gradually resume feeding (water and small greens portions).
- 8
D+7 post-wake: consult a vet if persistent feeding refusal, no urine output, weight loss > 10 %, or marked apathy.
Key indicator of a food's mineral balance, especially in reptiles (tortoises, lizards): a calcium-favoured ratio supports bone and shell strength and helps prevent metabolic bone disease. In herbivorous mammals, mineral balance is managed differently (hay, supplementation, UV light) — these targets don't translate directly.
For insects (crickets, roaches…), a calcium powder at feeding time can offset an unfavourable ratio.
- ≥ 2 — Adequate balance
- 1–2 — In moderation
- < 1 — Avoid / occasional only
This food is above the 50,000 IU/kg dry matter threshold, making it a good vitamin A source.
Content : — IU/kg DM
Essential for mucous membranes, skin, feathers and vision. Deficiency: respiratory infections, dysecdysis, eye problems, drop in laying.